Car construction



April l2, 1932. A. E. SMALL 1,853

Y CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 5, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet l l l InvfenorApril l2, 1932. i A, E, SMALL Y1,853,936

- CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept 3, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 12, 1932.A, E. SMALL CAR CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheetsj-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 5, 1929jwenof Hihi/rE. 211

Patented Apr. 12, 1932 UNiTED; STATES ARTHUR Persa? ortica' E. SMALL, OECHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TOk NION lVlflli'l'.IJAI'. PRODUCTS COMPANY,OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION F DELAWARE can CONSTRUCTION YApplication led September 3, 1929. Serial No. 390,067.

Myv invention relates to theconstruction of railway freight cars, andmore particularly to that type of gondola car wherein a portion of thefloor consists of doors hinged to thecar gebody sothat they may bedropped -to dis- .charge part of the lading. Such cars are used largelyto transport coal andballasting. ma-V terial, such as sand, chats,gravel, etc.

By nature of their requirements railway freight train cars are out ofdoors substantial-Vr ly allof the time, therefore, are subjectedtocorrosive. action of the elements, and while paint and othernon-corrosive coatings have, been appliedto the car parts, suchprotection '15 not only has been found to be expensive in time andmoney,'but the lading Iremoves the coating. This is particularly true ofthe in-V side of open type cars which are turned upside down inunloading machines causing the load to slide across the insidesurfacevof the car body and also when the discharging load slides acrossthe surface of a drop door and also when the long lading rests upon thelowered drop end gate of a gondolacar the fric- 25. tion therebetweencaused Aby the movement of the car also removes the protective coatingfrom the end gate. Furthermore, certain ladings, such as sulphur, wetcoal, which forms sulphuric acid, and, salinewater (in refrig- 3o eratorand stock cars) cause rolled steel or iron to corrode. On account of itslincreased strength'rolled steel inthe form of plates and bars hassupplanted wood in Vcar construc-V tion but the corrosive action of theelements eats away the rolled steel or iron material reducing theirstrength and their length of life. This applies to both the loadcarrying members, such as the'sills, plates and diaphragms and also thelading retaining mempers, hopper doors, etc. It has been found that castmetal, particularly castl steel, has

more than twice the resistance to corrosion than rolled steel,therefore, one of the objects of the invention .is to make,v the doorframe of cast metal, preferably cast steel, to enable it to resistcorrosion, and furthermore, to produce a construction wherein the metalcan be disposed and positioned to accommo-V date the stresses set up bythe .car in service.

bers, such as side and end walls, oors, hop-V lative motion-between thecomponent parts..V of the frame, as it is common knowledge that thevibration ofthe car vin motion, due to" rough and uneven track,andfsteel nwheels rolling on steel rails, togetherwth longer trains andhigh speeds in present day practice, cause riveted joints and built upsec,-l

tions fto'work. Mloose and the railroadsV look with .favor upon anydevice Vwhich Vreduces thenurnber of parts and vjoints `as these `arethe weak parts of the car and the more such' weak 4parts are eliminated,the Vlonger the life of the car.

Another object of the invention is to pro-v vide a'frame vfor the door`opening' which also is capable of resisting Vthe torsional 'andweavingY movements of the carin service," which movements tend todistort the car out` of shape. Such distortion not only weakens the carstructure, but also prevents the doors t from properly closing the 1dooropening, al-

lowing a leakage of the lading.

In the drawings:

jFig. l'shows atypical application of Ymy cast metal frame to a railwaycar.

Fig.y 2 is a section Online' 2-2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 rshows a modified`cross-bearer of cast metal. Y Y

. Fig.V 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3. t. Figs. 5 and 6 show amodified construcion. l Y f i Figs. 7 8 and 9 show another modifiedconstruction. Y

Figs. 10 and 1l show still another modified construction; Y

Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive show a typical application of myconstruction to arailway oar, wherein the center sills l; lside Wall 2; side sill' 3 andside stake 4 are of the usual construction. My cast metal frame 5comprisesH a part @secured to the center sill 1 under which the door 7fits, which part is preferably providedwith a depending flange 8 to formla seal for the door and a stilfener for the frame. The outer portion ofthe frame comprises a portion 10 which is also preferably provided witha depending flange 11 to form a seal for the door. This outer portion isalso preferably provided with an upstanding flange 12 secured to theside wall of the car. The meeting edges of adjacent door frames (13-14)are secured to the diaphragm or cross bearer 15 of the car. The centersill cover plate 17 is also preferably made of cast metal and I alsoprefer to use cast metal doors with my construction.

From the above it will be noted that the entire portion of the floor ofthe car in contact with the lading is of cast metal, thus practicallyeliminating corrosion due to the lading coming in contact with parts ofthe car. My cast metal frame 5 notonly forms a frame for the dooropening but also forms i. the upper member of the cross bearer (15)which is a girder; furthermore, the iioor portions ofthe door frame 5,with the cover plate, forms theJ rigid floor of the car. The

floor is assembled by putting the several frames in place. Y

In the form shown in Figs. 1l to l in elusive, I provide a cast metaldiaphragm or cross bearer (15) which preferably fits between flanges 2Oof the adjacent frames and is riveted or otherwise secured thereto. (SeeFig. 4.) The bottom portion of this cross bearer or diaphragm comprisesoppositelyprojectingobliquely disposed flanges 21. lIhey are obliquelydisposed so as to shed the lading when the door is dropped. I also formthese flanges to provide a stop 22 for the door. That portion of theflange (23) behind the stop may be flared, as shown in Fig. 2, to betterbrace the car structure against weaving. This cross bearer is providedwith a flange 24 to secure it to the center sill 1 and other anges 25 tosecure it to the side sill 3.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 5 and 6 I have provided the castmetal frame with a.v continuous inwardly sloping flange 30 forming awellbelow which the door is positioned. This construction permits of a verymuch smaller, and consequently, lighter door, which is easier tomanufacture and operate. It also increases the cubical capacity of thecar. Thellower part of the depending flanges 30 are flared to formbearing surfaces for the door. The usual'parts of the car are shown,such as center sill 31; side wall 32; side sill 33; cross beam 34 anddoor 35.

The cover plate 36 is preferably of cast metal and is shown formed withattaching flange 37 and stiffening flanges 38. The diaphragm 34 is shownof pressed steel with an upper angle 39 and lower plate 40.

Another advantage of the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is thatlong, Vheavy lading, such as rails, pipe, telegraph' poles,

etc., are supported by the cross bearers and not by the doors.

In Figs. 7, 8 and 9 I have shown my construction applied to a so-calledone hundred percent dump general service car, wherein the floor line 49is positioned above the center sills 50. The usual parts of the car areshown, such as side wall 51; diaphragm 52; door 53 and door stop 54. p

Figs. 10 and 11 show a modified construction wherein the cast metalframe is provided with an outwardly projecting dependingflange 60(preferably continuous) around the door opening and the door is providedwith an outwardly inclineddepending flange 61 at its periphery'whichco-acts withthe flange 60 of the door frame to completely close the dooropening. The usual parts of the car are shown in these figures, such ascenter sill 62; side wall 63 and cross bearer 64;. f

Where rolled steel members are used I preferably form the cast metalframe so as to cover them and protect them from the lading.

Any convenient door raising or lowering mechanism may be used withmy'construction. The form shown in Figs. 2 and 5 consists of a revolvingshaft which rests in the slot 71 in the cross bearers and is rolledbelow the door to support it after the door is in closed position.

The doors may be hinged to or adjacent' the center sill, as shown in thedrawings, orY they-may be hinged to any other portion or part of the carand still come within the scope of the invention.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of theinvention, though it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as itis obvious that variousmodilicationsthereof within the scopeof theclaims will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim: p l

1. In a railway car having a substantially horizontal floor, comprisinga cast metal door frame having a door opening and horizontal oorportions, said ioor portions provided with integral reinforcing flangessurrounding said openings.

2. In a railway car having a substantially horizontal floor, comprisinga cast metal door frame having a door opening, horizontal fioorportions, and integral depending flanges adjacent the edges of saidopening.

3. In a railway car having a substantially horizontal floor, comprisinga cast metal door frame having a door opening, horizontal floorportions, and integral depending flanges spaced away from the edges ofthe door opening to form a rabbet for the reception of a door.

4. Ina railway car having a substantially horizontal floor, comprising acast metal door frame having a door opening, and horizontal floorportions, secured to the center construcf tion, said ioor portionsprovided with integral .reinforcing ianges surrounding said opening.

5. In a railway car having a substantially horizontal` ioor, and a sidewall, said floor comprising a cast metal door frame having a dooropening and horizontal floor portions, one of said iioor portionssecured to the center construction and the opposite side of the framesecured to the side wall.

6. In a' railway car having a ,substantially horizontal floor, a sidewall, and a stake, said Hoor comprising a cast metal door frame havingadoor opening, and horizontal floor portions, said door frame secured tothe center construction, side wall and side stake.

7 In a railway car having a substantially horizontal floor, and a sidewall, said floor comprising a cast metal door iframe having a dooropening and horizontal oor portions, said door frame provided with anupstanding flange secured to the side wall.

8p. In a railway car having a centerV con? struction, a side wall, across vbearer secured 4to the center construction and the side wall, Y

the center construction and the side wall and between said crossbearers.

10. In a railway car having a center construction, a side wall and apair of cross bearers extending between the center construction and sidewall and secured thereto, the combination of a cast metal framesurrounding a door opening and having iioor portions forming the floorof the car between the center construction and the side wall and betweensaid cross bearers, said frame having an extension overlying said centerconstruction and secured thereto.

11. In a railway car vhaving a center construction, a side wall and apair of cross bearers extending between the center con-y struction andside wall and secured thereto,l

the combination of a cast metal frame surrounding a door opening andhaving floor portions forming the floor ofthe car between the centerconstruction `and the side wall and n between said cross bearers, saidframe having depending flanges secured to said cross bearersrespectively.

12. In a railwaycar having a center construction, a sidewall and a pairof cross bearers extending between the center construction and sidewalland secured thereto, the combination of a cast metal frame surrounding adoor opening and having floor portions forming the ioor of the carbetween the center construction and the side wall and between said crossbearers, said frame having tion and secured thereto and having depend`ing flanges secured to said cross bearers, re-

spectively, and having an upstanding flange secured to said side wall.

14. In a railway car having a substantially horizontal floor and acenter construction,

the combination ofV a cast metal door frameV ARTHUR E. SMALL.

